Grandal injury raises catching concerns

CINCINNATI  Yasmani Grandal’s whirlwind first month in the major leagues has ended with a strain to the oblique muscle in his right side.

The switch-hitting rookie catcher suffered the injury on a swing in his second at-bat of the second inning Monday night, although he apparently felt tightness in his side earlier in the day.

Grandal, 23, left the game before completing the at-bat and the severity of the injury was not immediately known -- although oblique strains typically result in a trip to the disabled list.

“I don’t know if it is that serious,” Grandal said after the game. “We have to see what happens tomorrow. But I’m hoping it will only be a couple of days, we’ll see.”

“It depends on the degree of the strain,” RESPONDED Padres manager Bud Black when asked about Grandal’s immediate future.

If Grandal goes on the disabled list, the Padres might have to make a roster adjustment at catcher. John Baker replaced Grandal Monday night. But the only other catcher on the club’s 40-man roster is veteran Nick Hundley, who is on the disabled list at Triple-A Tucson with a hamstring strain.

Promoted from Tucson on June 29, Grandal was hitting .312 with five homers and 15 RBI in 77 at-bats. With 20 major league starts, all facets of his game have been improving.

After not throwing out any of the first 17 runners who tested him, Grandal had thrown out four of the last 10. After not drawing a walk in his first 17 games, Grandal Monday night drew his fifth walk in a span of seven games.

Over his last 10 games, Grandal was hitting .379 (11-29) with a .471 on-base percentage and a .655 slugging percentage off three doubles, a triple and a home run. He had scored six runs and driven in eight.

“You have to be very impressed by what Yasmani’s done,” Black said over the weekend.

Grandal was promoted because Hundley was hitting .166 with three homers and 22 RBI in 53 starts with 50 strikeouts in 193 at-bats.

Homecoming II

Monday marked the first time that all four players the Padres received in the trade that sent starting pitcher Mat Latos to the Reds last Dec. 17 were active with the Padres at the same time – the irony being that it happened for the Padres first game in Cincinnati since the trade.

Three started the game with Grandal behind the plate, Yonder Alonso at first and Edinson Volquez pitching. Right-handed reliever Brad Boxberger -- who arrived earlier in the day to replace Joe Thatcher, who went on the 15-day disabled list, in the bullpen – struck out two in 1 1/3 innings of scoreless relief.

While it was a homecoming for Volquez and Alonso, Grandal and Boxberger were making their first visits to Great American Ball Park.

“Returning to play in Miami last weekend was much bigger for me,” Grandal said before the game. “This is not my home, I never played here. Most of the guys I played with after I was drafted are still in the minors.”

Alonso had a different take on being in Cincinnati. He did see limited duty with the Reds over parts of the last two seasons.

“I don’t feel any hate toward the Reds,” said Alonso. “My time here was great. I like the city and the ball park. And baseball has a lot of history here. The fans are great. This is a great place to play, in some ways different than Miami.

“People didn’t see me as being a major league player when I was growing up in Miami. I was a kid playing baseball. Here, they pulled for me to make it. I have a lot of fans who supported me here.”

Second chances

Boxberger admitted he is much more relaxed on his second tour as a Padre.

“Coming back this time, I know what to do and what to expect,” said Boxberger, whose first tour with the Padres last 16 days in June and covered five appearances. “There’s not the wow factor this time.

“Before they sent me back to Tucson, (pitching coach) Darren Balsley talked to me about some mechanical things and attacking the hitters more. I walked way to many hitters (seven in 6 1/3 innings) my first time here.

“Getting sent down was not fun. But I knew what I had to work on and I cleaned some things up. It’s fun to be back here and have everything more together.”